Gull watch in Meadow Street

Finally this morning I got around to finishing painting the front of the house. I'd just deposited on the path by the gate some old sheets for protecting everything from paint drops when this year's Meadow Street fledgling seagull paid a visit. It seemed so confident of itself that I popped back into the house and got my camera without startling it in the least.

Oblivious to my proximity, it pecked away at the corner of one of the dust sheets, then boldly dragged it under the gate out on to the pavement.

It continued to peck at the sheet for a while, then settled on it, as if it was about to make itself a nest there. I had to chase it away in order to retrieve it and put it to use.

All this time, there was neither sight nor sound of the bird's parents, although occasionally during the day one turns up to inspect. I watched the youngster tap on the parental crop, I can't distinguish the gender, and the older bird regurgitating a mess of food, which both of them ate from. No self sacrifice here!

After lunch it started to rain, so we didn't go out. Instead, I spent several hours learning how to use a lock pick borrowed yesterday from work, to liberate my bike from the shackle whose key is now lost, but had no success. Then there was a sermon to prepare, on the theme of persistence this week. I must have another go at that lock tomorrow.

We spent the evening making pasta to cook for supper. It took far longer than it should have because we had both forgotten the technique, so a certain amount of messing around was necessary before getting the desired result. Nevertheless, it was worth the effort.